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 Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2004 10:49 am
I'm a bit curious as to what people thought of this... I've always been under the impression that the events at the end of WWI led to WWII in one way or another (ie, the Treaty of Versailles, exclusive punishment of Germany, etc). What to you guys think?
Could WWII have been averted if Wilson's Fourteen Points were adopted rather than the Treaty of Versailles?
Would Hitler have risen to power if his country wasn't in such desperate need of a leader?
Discuss, please. 3nodding
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Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2004 11:38 am
The Treaty had a lot of loopholes in it, but the 14 points plan wasn't all that much better. I'd have to say that Wilson was probably thinking more along the lines of the betterment of the United States than world peace. Germany after WWI wasn't exactly looking to be "fixed" as they had a certain resentment for the rest of the world. Everyon sort of regarded them as "evil" when that may not have been the case per say. They say that evil is in the eye of the beholder. Germany had a lot of problems, granted, but I don't think the Treaty or the 14 points took into regard the fact that Germany was merely doing what everyone else wanted to do. Take over. To become a world power.
Adolf Hitler came into power not because the country needed a leader, in my opinion, but because he was well trained in the politics and psychology of crowd-speak. His training was less than official, but it still served a purpose. All he had to do was persuade a few groups of people that he was "good on his word" to make Germany great. Then they spread the word and it broke like a sickness. Think back to the DC Sniper incident. Everyone saw that "white Chevy van", right? But that was as ghost. One person thought they saw it, and so everyone else did too. It turned out that the gunmen where in a little blue car. Hitler turned out to be a bad seed, but someone thought they saw a good leader. So did everyone else.
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Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2004 3:34 pm
I think Hitler's success was more or less due to Germany's economic status at the time of his rise to power. He gave people a means to go on, under the banner of national improvement. And by telling a popluation of people that was already largely anti-Semetic that their plight was the Jews' fault, he only gained followers. He gave people a cause and, many times, that's all people need. A cup of followers, a handful of hardship, and a pinch of revolution; stir thoroughly and let it bake in the oven for a couple of years. And viola! a world war... again!
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Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2005 10:54 am
Because Germany was regarded as the cause of the war (even though if we must get technical, it was more Austria-Hungary) the were forced to pay repirations which send them into heavy debt and led to massive economic problems. The depression helped, it's true, but it hit Germany a lot harder than it hit other countries because of the conditions of the Treaty.
The fact that the Germany people were regarded as evil didn't help, but when you force a country to sign a document stating that they were the cause of death of millions of people, it tends to form hatred for said country.
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Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2005 8:01 pm
the events between the interwar period certianly had some connection between the two. The reperations payments enforced through the treaty of versallies stating that the Germans were to pay back $33 million. As a result the USA 'lent' the money to Germany, of which the Germans would never be able to pay it back and as a result the German Economy crashed in 1922, later to be followed in Black October in 1929 with the crash of the New York Stock Exchange. Causing the great depression which would lead to the rise of power of Hitler and the Nazi party in Germany.
Other causes would be the idea of apeasement feeling they had been to hard on Germany, France and Britian basicly let Hitler do what he wanted.. .in taking back the rhine land, and czechlosolvakia. The point that made the west realize that Hitler was not going to stop was when he invaded Poland. Thus starting WWII in 1939.
The fourteen points did little. The Leauge of nations was a pointless inisitution that could do absolutly nothing. They had no military strenght, they were just a bunch of rich old guys sitting around wagging there fingers at Germany but could do nothing else.
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Posted: Tue May 31, 2005 8:38 pm
Cliste I think Hitler's success was more or less due to Germany's economic status at the time of his rise to power. He gave people a means to go on, under the banner of national improvement. And by telling a popluation of people that was already largely anti-Semetic that their plight was the Jews' fault, he only gained followers. He gave people a cause and, many times, that's all people need. A cup of followers, a handful of hardship, and a pinch of revolution; stir thoroughly and let it bake in the oven for a couple of years. And viola! a world war... again! I agree. We have seen this sort of thing throughout history (especially recent history) from the rise of Hitler to the rise of Communism throughout the world. When people have problems they want someone to look up to who is going to offer them something better than what they have. When Hitler came to power he did get Germany out of its economic depression. Granted, he did it by building up arms and planning to take over the world, but the fact remains that he was the one who liberated Germany from debt and depression. He also provided people with a scapegoat, which, unfortunately, tends to be popular with the public as well. As for Wilson's 14 Points vs. the Treaty of Versailles, I think that one of the most important elements of setting the ground for WWII, though by no means the only one, was the fact that England and France got overly greedy for reparation payments. The inability of Germany to pay these reparations, as well as pay back the loans they were getting from the U.S. were a contributing factor to the Great Depression. And out of the Great Depression came Hitler. I know that these aren't the only problems/causes/etc. with the whole situation, but these facts are what stand out in my mind.
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Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 1:46 pm
Merridew Could WWII have been averted if Wilson's Fourteen Points were adopted rather than the Treaty of Versailles? The Treaty of Versailles would have been peachy keen if Wilson hadn't refused to allow Kaiser Wilhelm to sign the treaty - he wanted a democratic government to sign it. The only democratic group in Germany at the time was run by Jewish people. It was considered as "the Jews signing away Germany". No lie.
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Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 3:40 pm
u got a point but wit if hitler never came to power.....alot of battles would never of happened, the berlin wall never existed, or the cold war so in a way.....(not a hitler fan) it was a good thing he came in power.....exept the holocaust
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Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 5:36 pm
Great Burbuja u got a point but wit if hitler never came to power.....alot of battles would never of happened, the berlin wall never existed, or the cold war so in a way.....(not a hitler fan) it was a good thing he came in power.....exept the holocaust But battles, wars and the Berlin Wall aren't exactly good things. neutral On the contrary.
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